The National Quality Form announced 21 newly endorsed measures to be used to care for Senior Living and Post-Acute Care residents and short stay patients. These newly endorsed measures will take the place of 17 existing measures that will be retired and will address “…falls, infections, pressure ulcers, and the general health of residents and patients,” according to a press release from NQF on March 3rd. The measures are structured to track resident outcomes and their personal experiences. They will be used in the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Nursing Home Compare, a database of more than 17,000 nursing homes.
“These measures will help consumers better understand and compare quality of care when selecting nursing homes and will help them to monitor care once they or a family member is in a nursing home,” said Dr. Gifford, who co-chaired the organization’s Steering Committee on Nursing Homes and was recently named Senior Vice president of Quality and Regulatory Affairs at the American Healthcare Association and National Center for Assisted Living.
Changes were made by the NQF to assure alignment with the newly transitioned resident assessment tool, MDS 3.0. Anyone may request reconsideration of any or all of the 21 endorsed measures by notifying the NQF in writing no later than April 1, 2011.
